PHOENIX — A distracted driver was sentenced to prison last month for a causing a fatal collision in Peoria that killed a 25-year-old motorcyclist.
Amanda Schlief, 35, has been sentenced to spend 4.5 years in the Arizona Department of Corrections after she pleaded guilty to the negligent homicide of Clayton Trovillion.
Schlief struck the back of Trovillion's motorcycle while driving along State Route 101 on Aug. 24, 2019. The collision threw Trovillion off his motorcycle and he died from his injuries a few days later, according to the Arizona Department of Public Safety.
Schlief was indicted about a year later, shortly before Arizona's "Hands-Free" driving law was adopted and added new penalties for drivers caught using their phones.
DPS Investigators learned Schlief was actively texting on her phone immediately prior to the crash.
DPS said the case was the first in the agency's history involving the driver of a passenger car getting convicted of negligent homicide for distracted driving.
According to Trovillion's family, the 25-year-old had served in the U.S. Army, graduated from Arizona State University, and was studying to take the LSAT exam at the time of his death.
The Negretti & Associates law firm created a special scholarship in Trovillion's memory after his death.
"Clayton loved Arizona and would often enjoy its beauty while hiking and riding his motorcycle throughout the desert," the law firm wrote in a statement.
After she's released from prison, Schlief will be placed on probation for four years and won't be allowed to operate a car during that time, court records show.
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